Rajasthan Exams 2026: RPSC RAS/RTS and RSSB CET Pattern, Syllabus, Eligibility, Dates and Preparation

Rajasthan exams at a glance

These facts are as per RPSC Advertisement No. 02/2026-27 of 27 May 2026 for the RAS/RTS 2026 exam, the RAS scheme and syllabus of 9 January 2026, RPSC press notes of 2 July and 23 September 2026, and RSSB Advertisement No. 08/2026 (CET Senior Secondary Level) and No. 09/2026 (CET Graduate Level).

Selection process

RAS/RTS: Prelims, Mains and Interview

1. Online application through One Time Registration (OTR) on the Recruitment Portal, reached through the SSO portal. For RAS 2026 the window was 4 June to 3 July 2026.
2. Preliminary Examination. One objective paper, General Knowledge and General Science, of Bachelor's degree standard. It is a screening test only. Its marks do not count in the final merit.
3. Main Examination. About fifteen times the approximate number of vacancies are admitted, with relaxed standards for reserved categories where needed. It has four descriptive papers of 3 hours each.
4. Minimum marks. A candidate needs at least 10% in each Mains paper and 15% in the aggregate to be called for interview. SC and ST candidates get 5% relaxation in these minimums.
5. Personality and viva-voce examination of 100 marks. Marks are given for character, personality, address and physique, and also for the candidate's knowledge of Rajasthani culture. For the Rajasthan Police Service, candidates holding the NCC 'C' certificate get preference.
6. Final merit. Interview marks are added to the Mains written marks. The Commission recommends names in order of merit.

Mains papers may be answered in Hindi or English, but not partly in each. Marks can be deducted for illegible handwriting.

CET: an eligibility test, not a recruitment

1. CET is only an eligibility test. Appearing and scoring in it does not guarantee a job.
2. A candidate who scores below 40% in CET cannot sit the recruitment exam of a post covered by it. SC and ST candidates get a relaxation of up to 5% in this minimum.
3. RSSB then holds a separate recruitment exam for each post under its service rules, and selects category-wise on merit.
4. The CET score is valid for three years from the date of the result, as per the Department of Personnel notification of 16 January 2025.
5. There is no limit on the number of attempts. The best valid score before a recruitment exam is counted.
6. CET 2024 scores expired on 11 February 2026 (Graduate Level) and 16 February 2026 (Senior Secondary Level). Earlier candidates must apply again.

Exam pattern

RAS Preliminary Examination

All questions are multiple choice and carry equal marks. One-third mark is deducted for each wrong answer. Each question has five circles on the OMR sheet; the fifth is darkened for a question you do not attempt. If no circle is darkened, one-third of the question's marks is deducted. A candidate who leaves more than 10% of questions with no circle darkened is disqualified. Ten extra minutes are given for this check. The advertisement says the Prelims may be held online or offline.

RAS Main Examination

Mains questions are of brief, medium, long answer and descriptive type. General Hindi and General English are of Senior Secondary standard. The essay is about 600 words, in Hindi or English, on one of six thematic areas.

RSSB CET

Both CET levels are offline OMR tests with the same five-circle rule as the RAS Prelims. If the test runs in more than one shift, RSSB normalises the scores.

General Knowledge syllabus and Rajasthan GK

The RAS Prelims syllabus of 9 January 2026 lists these heads:

• History, Art, Culture, Literature, Tradition and Heritage of Rajasthan: prehistoric sites, sources of history, major dynasties, peasant, tribal and Praja Mandal movements, integration of Rajasthan, forts and paintings, folk dances and music, dialects, saints, folk deities, fairs and festivals, and leading personalities
• Indian History: ancient and medieval India, and the modern period from the early 19th century to 2000
• Geography of World and India
• Geography of Rajasthan: physiography, rivers and lakes, climate, soils, agriculture, livestock, irrigation, population, tribes, minerals and tourism
• Indian Constitution, Political System and Governance
• Political and Administrative System of Rajasthan: Governor, Chief Minister, Assembly, High Court, RPSC, State Election Commission, Lokayukta and Panchayati Raj
• Economic Concepts and Indian Economy, and the Economy of Rajasthan, including the state budget and welfare schemes
• Science and Technology, with agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry of Rajasthan
• Reasoning and Mental Ability, with basic numeracy
• Current Affairs and Issues, with special reference to Rajasthan, including the Rajasthan Public Examination (Measures for Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Act, 2022

The CET syllabus has the same shape at a lower level. The Graduate Level also asks about Rajasthan's ancient sites such as Kalibangan, Ahar, Ganeshwar, Balathal and Bairath, Rajasthani literature and dialects, and Rajasthan's religious movements, saints and folk deities.

What GK24 covers. GK24 publishes national GK notes and daily current affairs in English and Hindi. It does not have a separate Rajasthan GK section. The mapping below is guidance, not part of any notice.

Eligibility and age limit

RAS/RTS 2026

A candidate must hold a degree of a university set up by a Central or State Act, or of a deemed university under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956, or an equivalent qualification. Final-year students may apply, but must show the degree before the Main Examination.

Age must be at least 21 years and below 40 years on 1 January 2027. The previous advertisement, of 2024, counted age on 1 January 2025; this one counts it on 1 January 2027, so one extra year is allowed in the upper age limit. Non-gazetted employees applying for the State Service posts reserved for them must be at least 25 and below 45 years on 1 January 2027, with five years of service.

CET 2026

The Graduate Level needs graduation or equivalent. The Senior Secondary Level needs Senior Secondary or equivalent. Final-year candidates may apply. Both levels need age of at least 18 years and below 40 years on 1 January 2027. At the recruitment stage, each post's own service rules decide qualification and age.

Upper age relaxation

The other relaxations are not cumulative. SC, ST, OBC, MBC and EWS candidates from other states apply as General. Under the RAS advertisement, Rajasthan Government employees in substantive service get an upper limit of 45 years.

Fee

Both RPSC and RSSB charge a One Time Registration (OTR) fee, not a fee per exam: ₹600 for General and creamy-layer BC/MBC candidates, ₹400 for Rajasthan's non-creamy-layer BC/MBC, EWS, SC and ST candidates, and ₹400 for all persons with disabilities. A candidate who has paid it once does not pay again. An OTR is blocked if the candidate is absent from two exams in a financial year; unblocking costs ₹750, and ₹1,500 the second time.

Important dates

RPSC fixed the RAS dates by its press note of 2 July 2026. Its press note of 23 September 2026 opened the edit and withdraw window and repeated the Prelims date. A candidate who withdraws in that window is not counted as absent for the OTR block. RSSB admit cards are issued online through the SSO login; the board announces the issue date on its website.

How to prepare General Knowledge and current affairs for Rajasthan exams

This plan is guidance. CET Senior Secondary Level falls in late October, and CET Graduate Level and the RAS Prelims fall within one week in early December, so one GK plan serves all three.

1. Split the syllabus. Prepare national GK (Indian history, polity, geography, economy and science) from GK24, and Rajasthan GK from state sources. Rajasthan topics fill a large share of every paper.
2. Read current affairs daily. GK24 publishes daily current affairs from official releases in English and Hindi. Cover the 12 months before your exam, and add Rajasthan news, schemes and the state budget from state sources, since the RAS syllabus asks for current affairs with special reference to Rajasthan.
3. Revise with GK notes. Read GK24's topic-wise GK notes for Polity, History, Geography, Economy and Science, and revise each topic twice before December.
4. Solve previous-year questions. Use GK24's previous-year questions for the national topics. RPSC and RSSB publish their own question papers on their sites for the Rajasthan part.
5. Take timed quizzes. Practise GK24 quizzes against the clock. With one-third negative marking and a fifth option for skipping, answer only when you can rule out wrong options, and never leave a question with no circle darkened.
6. Plan for Mains early. RAS Mains is descriptive and General Studies-III includes current affairs, so keep short notes of major events as you read them.

Posts and pay

The RAS 2026 advertisement prints pay only as Pay Matrix levels. It does not print rupee figures, so none are given here. NSA means Non-Scheduled Area and SA means Scheduled Area; Scheduled Area posts are only for residents of Rajasthan's Scheduled Area.

RAS/RTS 2026: State Services (192 posts)

RAS/RTS 2026: Subordinate Services (415 posts)

Posts covered by CET 2026

The CET notices do not print pay or vacancies. RSSB will show department-wise and service-wise vacancies when it advertises each post's main recruitment exam.